A Second Chance
by Undercover Stegosaurus
Summary: "If I were to send you back, there would be two of you running around. If this past version of yourself was to discover who you are, the results would be disastrous." It's been 3 months since the Fire Nation won the war. Desperate to do it over, Aang figures out a way to travel back in time, and fix his errors. He just never expected changing history to be so complicated.
1. 2nd Chance

**AN: Hello lovelies, and welcome to my story. I tried to reedit this chapter recently, and it somehow ended up in computer code. I just finished fixing t, and hopefully, you'll like it. Enjoy!**

The Gaang was exhausted. It had been three months since Sozin's comet, and they had lost. Miserably. Azula had nearly killed Zuko in their fateful Agni Kai. If Katara had not been able to slow Azula down, Zuko would have certainly perished. Even if it was just for a few minutes, it was enough for her to jump on Appa, and escape with the banished prince. Katara would never forget the utter loathing that filled Azula's eyes, as the psychotic princess struggled to escape her chains. The horrifying moment when Azula miraculously broke through, and looked right at her. The way she and Zuko ran to for their lives.

Aang hadn't fared much better. Ozai had almost killed him, but then, after delivering what should have been a fatal blow, decided to leave him on the rocky cliffs to die. Sokka, Toph, and Suki had abandoned their mission, and immediately gone over to help the little monk. Aang was badly injured, having broken several ribs, and having multiple bruises and burn marks. Sokka had wrapped his ribs, trying to make do until Katara came back. After what felt like a lifetime of pacing back and forth, worrying about his friend, he heard the familiar grunt of Appa. Sokka then knew he had nothing to fear. Aang would make it. Katara was able to heal most of Aang's injuries. Under her careful hands, the bruises vanished. The pain in his ribs lightened, however, she couldn't fully repair the bone, for that was far beyond her healing capacity. She did perform daily healing sessions with him, as to speed up his recovery, and help with the pain. The memories that would haunt his mind, could unfortunately never be healed

The Fire Nation had taken over everything. There were new laws, forbidding earthbending, and waterbending. New taxes were created, demanding people to pay the Phoenix King, and stripping them of their money. Children were to be taught the Fire Nation Way. A child born in what was once the Earth Kingdom, would be brought up to believe fire was the superior element. They were to be trained to fight off any forms of rebellion, and to kill their own people if necessary. The Phoenix King was their god, and they were pledge their lives to him. Slowly, all cultures, other than that of the Fire Nation, would be lost to the world. Aang still had a hard time believing it, but he knew, deep in his heart, Phoenix King Ozai was truly unstoppable. It was all his fault. He had failed his friends. He had failed the world.

* * *

><p>"It's all your fault!" Katara glared at the airbender, eyes full of hatred. "It was your responsibility to save the world, but instead, you helped destroy it!<p>

"I'm sorry, I tried. I really did!" Aang pleaded. Katara furrowed her eyebrows, and leaned in close to the airbender

"Sorry, but 'tried' isn't good enough. Thanks to you, my life is a living nightmare!" The harsh words off her tongue hurt.

"Katara, I.." Aang hesitated

"You what?" The Water Tribe girl spat at him. Aang couldn't speak. His throat felt dry, and his hands were clammy. Katara's once kind and sympathetic face dripped in anger, and hatred. Her formerly neat hair was wild, and out of place, almost as if she had given up. Instead of fixing things, all she wanted to do was blame Aang. The Air Nomad couldn't help but wonder. When did his relationship with Katara go so down hill? She had once been his best friend, but now, he could tell she loathed him. "Well, Aang? What is it?" She asked impatiently. "Aang?" He said nothing. "AANG!" Aang's eyes snapped open, and he saw Katara looking over him, full of worry."Are you okay? You were shaking, and screaming apologies."

"Yeah. It was just a nightmare." Aang quietly gazed at her, secretly relieved it had just been a dream.

"Aang, I'm really worried about you. Do you want to talk about it?" The waterbender put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"No, not really." Aang sighed. He glanced around, taking in his surroundings for the first time since he had woken up. It was early morning, as the sun was still rising. Sokka was in a deep sleep, murmuring to himself something about meat. A thin trail of drool escaped from the corner of his mouth, collecting in a puddle next to his head. Suki was laying next to Sokka, clearly awake, as she had a slight look of disgust on her face from the drool. Aang couldn't tell if Toph was awake or not, due to the fact she was concealed in an earth tent, but he assumed she hadn't woken. He then noticed someone was missing. "Hey, Katara? Where's Zuko?" Aang, asked, curious.

"What? Oh I think he's off practicing with his swords somewhere. He was up before me." She replied. Aang nodded. It made sense. Zuko was a firebender. He rose with the sun. Thinking back to his dream, Aang looked down at his lap, letting his feelings of regret take over. Why hadn't he been able to stop Ozai?

"I'm going to go meditate." He excused himself

"Okay.." Katara looked slightly confused at his sudden urge to leave.

* * *

><p>Aang made his way towards the stream they had camped near. He sat in the lotus position, and began to focus. Breathe In. Breathe Out. He tried to clear his mind, just like the monks had taught him. Aang shifted around a bit, trying to get more comfortable.<p>

"I wish I knew a way to fix this mess." The airbender said to no one in particular. He looked up at the sky, and sighed. Suddenly, an idea stuck him. Why didn't he call on his past lives? "Avatar Roku, I need your guidance." There was a whisp of blue smoke, and the familiar form of Roku appeared in front of him.

"Hello, Aang." Roku smiled at Aang. His voice was gentle, and soothing. "I am always here to guide you."

"Avatar Roku, I don't know what to do. I've let down the world. Every day I feel like a failure, and I don't even know how my friends can stand to be around me. I keep having these dreams, where Katara is screaming at me, blaming me for the destruction of the world. I'm so confused, and I don't know where I went wrong!" Aang blurted out. His voice slightly cracking, as he was attempting not to cry. "I wish I could do it all over."

"You can." Roku said simply.

"I know I can't ever-wait what?" Aang looked questionably at his past self.

"You can." Roku said again, this time, a little firmer.

"I can-but what-how?" The nomad looked flabbergasted. How was this even possible? Roku's eyes twinkled as he spoke.

"There are some types of spirit magic, strong enough to send one back in time. I posses this power. However, I cannot replace the version of you that already exists at that moment in time."

"So you're saying-"

"If I were to send you back, there would be two of you running around. If this past version of yourself was to discover who you are, the results would be disastrous. If you are willing to take this risk, I can send you back so you can prevent your defeat at Sozin's comet."

"Couldn't you just send me back 100 years ago, so I can prevent the war from even happening?" Aang asked.

"Unfortunately, no." Roku stroked his beard thoughtfully. "No being is strong enough to do that."

"How come you never mentioned this before?" Aang was curious.

"I never felt the need to." Roku said simply. "Now if you would like to, I can send you back right now."

"Right now?" The airbender's eyes widened. Roku nodded.

"Wait! Can I bring my friends?" Roku thought for a moment, then nodded again.

"If you would like.

"Do I need to go grab them or-"

"There is no need." Roku placed his thumb on Aang's forehead, and closed his eyes. Aang felt a slight tingle, and was surrounded by a strange white light. The next thing he felt was extreme cold.

* * *

><p><em> Swish<em>. Zuko's sword cut effortlessly through the long stalk of bamboo. He swung again, full force. _Swoosh_. The bamboo fell to the ground, in several evenly cut pieces. The ex Prince's forehead was beaded with sweat. He had been at it all morning. _You were lucky to be born._ His father's words echoed in his mind. _Whack_. went the swords, cutting through several more stalks of bamboo. _Failure_. Zuko narrowed his eyes, at the plant, imagining it was his father. _Swish_ went the swords, as he swung again, trying to clear his mind.

Noticing he was panting, the firebender steadied his breath, and focused on his target. He raised his arms, to strike gain, when he felt a weird tingle take over his body. He lowered the swords, and looked down at himself, to see if anything was on him. He never got the chance to see, as he was swallowed up by the white.

* * *

><p>Katara knocked on Toph's tent for the eighth time, extremely frustrated.<p>

"Toph! It's time to wake up! We need to pack up, and get out of here!" Katara frowned. She shouldn't have tried to get Toph up first. If that girl didn't want to get up, she wouldn't. Katara knocked again, this time more forcefully. They needed to get a move on. The Fire Empire soldiers could show up any second. "Toph! Come on!" She waited a couple of seconds, hands impatiently on her hips. She raised her fist to knock again, and was surprised to see the door sink back into the earth.

"I'm coming, Sweetness. You can calm down." Toph let out an irritated grunt.

Come on. We need to-" Katara stopped talking mid sentence. A small gasp escaped her lips.

"What? What is it?" The blind girl asked, clearly confused. She felt a strange sensation take over her body, and then felt a coldness on her feet, realizing shortly after she couldn't see a thing. "Katara, what did you do?"

* * *

><p>Sokka looked around, full of despair. He loved meat. He never thought it would betray him. Yet here he was, trapped in a maze made of meat. He had at first tried to eat his way out, but every bite he took of the meat, a new one appeared in it's place. He was starting to feel there was no way out. He had been going in circles for hours now, with only Momo as a companion. The lemur had spent the entire time insulting Sokka, making fun of his instincts, telling him he had a stupid haircut, and constantly bringing up the fact he couldn't bend. Sokka just wanted to yell at Momo to shut up. He didn't even question the fact Momo was talking.<p>

Sokka sighed, noticing he had come to yet another dead end. The air reeked of old meat, and Sokka felt sick to his stomach. Every bone in his body felt weird, and out of place.

"You're pathetic." Momo screeched at him. "You smell, and you have a worse sense of direction than a blind platypus bear." Sokka rolled his eyes, and started trudging in the opposite direction. He would get out of this maze. "You're a dumb, whiny non-bender." Momo was inches away from Sokka's face. "Nobody wants you." The Water Tribe boy could feel the lemur's breath against his skin. It was cold, and somewhat icy. Wait icy? That isn't possible. Sokka thought to himself. And since when can Momo talk?

"This is a dream!" Sokka came to a conclusion. And immediately woke up. However, instead of the earthy terrain he had gone to bed on, all he saw was ice, and snow. Sokka's eyes widened in shock. He was at the South Pole.

**AN: Yay end of the chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! Have a terrific day!**


	2. The Southern Water Tribe

**AN: Wow I haven't updated in a really long time. For that, I apologize. I promise to make the updates closer together. I'm thinking every other week, or at least once a week. Anyways, thank you bendergurl123, Mrperson01, guest, Jess2708, and NatNicole. Your reviews mean the world to me.**

"Katara, what did you do?" the tiny earthbender wailed. Katara wasn't entirely sure what had just happened. She blinked a couple times, getting used to the sudden brightness. As her eyes adjusted, she noticed the strong scent of salt water, and fish. Almost exactly like the-

"Oh no." Her eyes widened as she realized where exactly she was. Her thoughts were confirmed, as she realized she was standing on an iceberg, surrounded by bone chilling water that she knew all too well.

"It can't be." She mumbled to herself.

"What? What can't be?" Toph looked around, blindly. Because they were standing on ice, it was impossible for her to see anything.

"It looks like the South Pole." Katara's voice wavered, as she ran her fingers through her hair, trying to make sense of the situation.

"That's because it is!" Aang's peppy voice cut in. Katara whirled around to see the young monk on the opposite end of the iceberg, along with Zuko. She raised an eyebrow.

"Aang what did you do?"

The airbender grinned. "I gave us a second chance! Roku sent us back in time so we can fix what we screwed up the first time around, and stop Ozai from taking over!"

"What?!" Katara's jaw dropped. "How is that even possible?!"

Aang thought about the question for a moment, then gave a tiny smile. "Spirit Magic is weird like that."

"Wait. If Twinkle Toes used spirit magic to send us back in time, then where back in time are we?" Toph put her hands on her hips. Katara looked at Aang.

"This is the day we met. Isn't it?" She whispered.

"I think so." Aang rubbed his head. "That would make the most sense."

"So we just get to start over?" Katara's chest suddenly lifted for the first time in weeks.

"Not exactly." Aang shrugged. "Roku said versions of us from this moment in time would be here, and we can't let them know who we are."

"So we have to help ourselves, without ourselves knowing we're them?" Toph summarized.

"Basically." Aang smirked.

"This whole time travel business makes my brain hurt." The blind girl huffed, plopping down on the iceberg.

"If there are two of me, is other me fishing with Sokka?" Katara asked. Aang nodded.

"I'm probably still in the iceberg. Toph, you're with your parents."

"Yay." Toph gave a fake cheer, waving her hands in the air sarcastically. Aang glared at the earthbender for interrupting him.

"And Zuko..."

"I'm hunting the avatar, trying to regain my honor." Zuko didn't bother to look at either of them. The firebender looked down, regretful. He shuffled his feet awkwardly, creating little piles of dust like snow. "Those were the days." The group stood in place, unsure of how to respond to Zuko. Katara fiddled with her hair some more, looking to either Aang or Toph to change the topic. Aang held up his arms is defense, as if to say, "Don't ask me." Katara rolled her eyes, and opened her mouth to speak, closing it immediately after, as she couldn't think of anything to say.

"So now what?" Toph asked to no one in particular.

"Hey guys! Over here!" All four turned to see Sokka and Suki waving their arms, standing on an iceberg about 50 feet away. Sokka's wolf tail was undone, and he still had drool at the edges of his mouth, making it obvious he had just woken up. "Come over to us! We have a bigger iceberg!" Suki pointed to the hunk of ice she and her boyfriend were standing on. With a nod, Katara inhaled deeply, and began to create an ice bridge to reach them. A sudden scream caused the girl to drop her stance, resulting in all the frozen water remelting.

"What was that?" she whispered, her voice haunted.

"I didn't hear-"

"SHHH!" She put a finger to her lips, signaling Aang to be quiet. With a nod, Aang quickly put both hands over his mouth. Katara listened for a couple moments, eyes wide, but to her relief, didn't hear anything. The Watertribe girl released a breath of air she hadn't realized he had been holding. "I must've been imagining-"

"You call that left?" A shrill voice called out. Katara gasped and turned her head to where the noise had come from.

"You don't like my steering? Well maybe you should've water bended us out of the ice."

Katara paled.

"Is that...me and Sokka?" She pointed in the direction of the voices. Aang nodded. Sokka, still unaware of what had happened, as Aang had not yet explained it to him, looked like he had seen a ghost.

"Uh guys? What is going on?" The watertribe boy's voice cracked.

"I'll explain later!" Aang shushed him. The past Katara's voice began to get louder.

"You are the most SEXIST, IMMATURE, NUT BRAINED..UGH! I'M EMBARRASSED TO BE RELATED TO YOU! EVER SINCE MOM DIED, I'VE BEEN DOING ALL THE WORK AROUND CAMP WHILE YOU'VE BEEN OFF PLAYING SOLIDER!"

"Wow Sokka. What'd you do this time?" Toph laughed.

"I EVEN WASH ALL THE CLOTHES! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you. NOT. PLEASANT." Sokka eyed his younger sister, as they listened to the past version of her yelling. Rubbing his arm, he noticed the awkward look on his girlfriend's face.

"I don't think it lasts much longer." he assured Suki.

"FROM NOW ON, YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN!" As the girl screamed, a giant iceberg split in half, causing anyone who was present to be rocked wildly, by a massive wave. The wave carried the icebergs, pushing the group close enough to the past Katara and Sokka to see them.

"You've gone from weird to FREAKISH, Katara." Past Sokka glared at his sister, oblivious to the other version of himself watching him with bug eyes.

"You mean I did that?" The water began to bubble, and the glowing iceberg containing Aang emerged from the ocean.

"So that's what I looked like!" Aang pointed to the water.

"Shhh!" Katara bumped him. Zuko rolled his eyes, and finally cut in.

"It's great watching you guys and all, but shouldn't we do something in case they spot us? I don't think they're going to be too pleased to see Fire Nation." Zuko gestured to the clothes they were all wearing. Red, to blend in, and not get captured.

"Zuko's right." Sokka nodded. His and Suki's iceberg had drifted several inches next to the one everyone else was standing on, so he could easily hear the firebender. "Suki, do you happen to have any face paint?"

"I haven't had any since before I was captured and taken to the Boiling Rock." She shook her head. Sokka furrowed his eyebrows, and held his hands out, examining his companions.

"Hmmm." He cocked his head, thinking up disguise ideas for each person. "I know we have some extra furs and such back home. You guys can wear those. Zuko, you'll fit into my stuff, everyone else, wear something of Katara's." Aang raised his hand timidly. "Yes Aang?" Sokka asked the nomad.

"Why do you want me to wear girl clothes?"

"What's wrong with my clothes?" Katara shot him a look. Aang held up a finger to enlighten her.

"Nothing. Nothing. It's just...ah...uh..." His finger drooped.

"It's not manly. Look, Aang, you're smaller, so you will fit in Katara's stuff better." Sokka finished for him.

"Right." Aang nodded, visibly upset. Katara let out a small sigh and jumped onto Sokka and Suki's larger iceberg, signaling for the others to follow. When everyone was onboard, Katara and Aang began bending the water, to take their makeshift boat to the village faster. As they moved along, Toph attempted to make small talk.

"So. How much longer until we get to some nice earth. Not being able to see is driving me crazy!" Sokka and Katara glanced at each other, neither one wanting to be the one to tell the girl the South Pole was made completely of ice and water.

"Not too much longer." Sokka put a hand on Toph to reassure her. They waited a few more minutes, until the iceberg finally hit land, creating a crack upon impact. They group stepped onto land, careful not to slip and fall into the deadly waters. They silently followed Sokka, as they headed toward the back of the village. As they approached it, it became obvious it was going to be hard to get in. A ginormous ice wall surrounded the Southern Water Tribe. Sokka turned to Zuko, who gave him a nod. Zuko placed his hands on the wall, and melted a hole big enough for everyone to crawl through. Once the last of the Gaang had made it, Katara repaired the hole with waterbending. "Okay. Zuko, you come with me. Everyone else, follow Katara." The boys made their way over to Sokka's tent. Sokka grabbed a bunch of furs, and threw them at Zuko.

"What was that for?" Zuko grumbled as the heavy coats hit him in the chest.

"Sorry." Sokka waved his hands apologetically. Zuko shook his head, and put the coat on. Sokka stroked his chin, thoughtfully.

"We have to do something about that scar." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his jars of war paints. A lightbulb went over his head.

* * *

><p>"Make sure you keep the hood up. Katara warned Aang. She had decided to keep her hair down, but had chosen to hide her mother's necklace, to avoid confusion. Toph had on one of Katara's many fur coats, as did Aang, and Suki. "Let's go." She signaled the others. They walked outside the hut, and were met by Sokka and Zuko. Sokka had left his hair down, and strung several beads throughout it. His look was completed by his Wang Fire beard and eyebrows. Meanwhile, Zuko had been made completely unrecognizable by the about of paint covering his face. He was clearly uncomfortable in it.<p>

"Nice makeup, Zuko!" Aang laughed. Zuko mumbled something under his breath, but was bumped by Sokka.

"Wha-" He was confused by the boy's behavior. He turned around and saw an old woman with hair loopies that would rival Katara's staring at him, eyes narrowed.

"Who are you, and what are you doing outside of my granddaughter's tent?"

* * *

><p>"Gran Gran." Katara and Sokka whispered in synch.<p>

"What did you say?" Their grandmother crossed her arms.

"Nothing. I just said Kan Kan! You just remind me of my sister, Kan Kan!" Sokka attempted to cover. Gran Gran did not look impressed. Katara looked at Gran Gran apologetically.

"We're from the Northern Water Tribe. My name is Shui, this is my cousin-"

"Lee!" Sokka interrupted, remembering Piando had said it was a common name.

"Yes. Lee. Master Pakku sent us to uh help teach waterbending to our sister tribe!" Katara finished with a fake grin. Gran Gran's eyes widened for a moment at the word Pakku, then narrowed again. She pointed to the rest of the Gaang.

"And who are they?"

"My uh assistants!"

"Lun." Suki pointed to herself.

"Chan-juan" Toph waved.

"Sheng." Aang shrugged.

"And you?" Gran Gran pointed to Zuko noticing he hadn't yet responded.

"Lee!" He immediately said, so used to that being his cover while living in the Earth Kingdom. Sokka facepalmed.

"Lee and Lee?" Gran Gran narrowed her eyes.

"Uh well you see, well the uh thing is uh-"

"Yes, we are Lee and Lee. No relation." Sokka interrupted, saving his friend. Zuko shot a thankful look. Gran Gran looked the group over once more, seeing if she could trust them.

"If you are who you say you are, I'm sad to say there is unfortunately only one bender in the-"

"Gran Gran! Sokka and I were out fishing, and we found an actual airbender! He's asleep on his flying bison and he-uh who are they?"

**AN: Yay I finished it. It takes me a really long time to write, but I'm doing my best. Expect the next update much sooner than before.**


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